


The Ghost of Colony 9

by MementoVive



Series: Of Butterfly Wings and Puppy Paws [1]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Canon, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:21:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29169498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MementoVive/pseuds/MementoVive
Summary: They say that the residents building in the military district is haunted. Children tell tale of screams accompanied by animalistic growls that echo throughout the night, and rumors of a ghostly pale boy that wanders the halls of the apartment building, never straying off the premises.Reyn isn’t a scaredy-cat. He’s stronger than most boys at school, and he’s won his own fair share of fights, much to his parents’ exasperation. He’s not afraid of some dumb ghost. Fiora knows this.Right Fiora?…Fiora?
Series: Of Butterfly Wings and Puppy Paws [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141352
Kudos: 17





	The Ghost of Colony 9

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a first draft but it's been sitting on my computer for so long that if I keep it there for much longer I'll go crazy lol  
> I'll probably go back and edit it and make some changes once I have enough spare time, but by then I'll probably be working on making the main series. I hope you like it <3

Reyn stumbled onto the hard pavement of the Central Plaza, papers and pencils spilled out of his bag as he hit the ground in a dusty cloud. He sat up and glared at the other boy that had pushed him to the ground, who was doubled over in laughter with his friends.  
Devon, of course. He hadn’t left Reyn alone since they started school.

“Oi, what’s your deal?” he shouted at them.

“Close your bag next time Reyn, it might save you the trouble of having to pick everything back up,” Devon cackled.

Reyn scowled and began gathering his notebooks off the ground, stuffing them into his bag. He went to reach for his pencils, but with a kick from Devon, they went scattering down the side of the bridge. They fell into the water below, the small splashes hardly visible from their height.

Reyn got to his feet and shoved him back, “I said stop it!”

The gaggle of boys let out a chorus of ‘ooh’s’ at his aggressive retaliation.

“What are you gonna do, hit me?” Devon said.

“Yeah!” Reyn said, and then lunged at the boy, swinging a wild fist.

The boys went down in a tangle of limbs and bookbags, rolling over each other and hitting whatever their fists were closest to. Pain blossomed in Reyn’s eye as Devon landed a good hit on his face, but he was quick to pull on his hair and kick at his stomach. The hard pavement beneath them scratched at Reyn’s open knees and elbows, but he didn’t care, instead he tried hitting Devon’s eye, to see what he thought of his own medicine.

A familiar voice broke through the sounds of fighting, “Oh for… it’s seven-thirty in the morning for Bionis sake!”

The sound of multiple feet hitting the ground told Reyn the other boys had scattered away frantically, and Reyn was suddenly lifted off of Devon, who was then pulled back from Reyn mid-lunge. A strong arm held them back each. Devon fell limp and he paled when he realized who was holding him back. Reyn however, kept trying to break himself free.

Reyn shouted and kicked the ground from where he was being held up, “let me go, Dunban!”

Dunban raised a brow, “aren’t you two supposed to be in school by now?”

“Yeah, and I was going to make it in time today before Devon pushed me!”

“Devon?”

“I- I didn’t mean to! I bumped into him and then he started attacking me!”

Devon looked up at Dunban with wide eyes, tears brimming at their edges, “please mister Dunban, I didn’t mean to, he just got so angry…”

“Armu dung!” Reyn exclaimed and Dunban glared at him.

“Right. Well, I think your principal would love to hear about why you’re both late, and why you’re both covered from head to toe in scratches and bruises.”

Reyn pouted and crossed his arms, letting Dunban drag him over to the Residential District. Devon was more vocal, begging that Dunban let him go and that he’d be good, but promptly gave up once he realized he wasn’t going to get his way. Instead, he walked with Dunban, who’s hand was still holding him tightly by the back of his shirt.

They were paraded through the town square and dragged right through the school’s front doors. Dunban deposited them roughly onto the chairs outside the principal’s office and rapped on the door. He stood back and crossed his arms; Devon sank into his seat.

An elderly Nopon woman answered, and as her sights fell on Reyn and Devon, she sighed.

“Oh deary… Prinprin take care of boys. Much thanks, young Dundun.”

Dunban smiled at Prinprin, “It’s no problem, you sure you’ve got it handled?”

Prinprin waved him off with one of her blue wings, “Of course! Off you go.”

Dunban nodded and gave a pointed look at Reyn and Devon.

“Behave,” he said simply, and then he left. Reyn stuck his tongue out at his back.

Prinprin smacked his leg and Reyn yelped, rubbing the sore spot with a pout.

“Boys come with Prinprin. Is very disappointed.”

Reyn stood obediently with Devon and followed their principal into her office. He crossed his arms.

“Okay. But I didn’t start it,” he said.

The door shut behind them and Prinprin leapt into her seat, the fluttering from her wings sending the papers on her desk flapping into the air. It was a good thing their class had bought her those paper weights last holiday season.

She now sat above the boys, and she glared down at Reyn, “no excuse, fighting very bad. littlepons must get along.”

Despite having her window open, the room was stifling hot. Reyn shuffled uncomfortably under his principal’s scrutinizing gaze. He blamed the Nopon fur and the cramped space for the rise in temperature.

“I know that. But he’s being mean to me all the time!” Reyn said.

“No I’m not,” Devon said, “he just suddenly jumped on me and I had to protect myself.”

Reyn whirled on him, “that’s cause _you_ pushed _me_!”

“Boys!” Prinprin shouted, then rubbed her forehead with her paw, “this very out of control. Stay here, Prinprin will contact guardian.”

“But-!”

Prinprin glared at Devon, “no buts! Stay, then go to class.”

Devon pouted, then sniffled. He shuffled over to the plush couch that sat underneath the window and curled into himself. Reyn remained where he was, but stuck a tongue out at Devon just for good measure as Prinprin called for her assistant. They waited as Prinprin wrote the letters to their parents, the scratch of the pen against the paper was deafening in the small room. The young Homs assistant stood near the door, watching the ceiling awkwardly.

They remained still as Prinprin read out her letter, her assistant correcting the minor grammar mistakes here and there, and then handed them off to the assistant, who took off quickly to deliver the letters. With a wave from Prinprin’s wing, they were dismissed to class.

* * *

Reyn sat against the wall of the school, picking the grass on the small lawn that the children were allowed to play on during recess. He ripped out a handful of grass and tossed it at the kids playing kickball on the other side of the field, next to the fence. It fell on his feet instead and he kicked it off.

He heard someone walk over to him, their shadow falling over him. He didn’t bother to look at them and tossed some more grass. It landed on his foot again. The shadow shrunk as they sat next to him.

“Wow, you’re in a bad mood,” Fiora commented helpfully.

“It’s cause of Devon,” Reyn said, and ripped out another handful of grass, “he keeps getting away with everything.”

“I know,” Fiora said, “I saw you guys come in with Dunban.”

Reyn groaned, throwing his head back, “you saw that?”

“Yup! He looked mad” Fiora laughed, “what happened?”

“Devon pushed me again,” Reyn grumbled, “but this time he also kicked my stuff off the bridge. So I punched him.”

Fiora tapped him on the shoulder and Reyn finally turned to look at her. She leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“Good, because I would’ve done it if you hadn’t.”

Reyn snorted, “Fiora!”

“It’s true! You’re my best friend Reyn, I hate seeing you get bullied all the time.”

Reyn tossed the grass and crossed his arms, “It’s not bullying,” he sniffed.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Reyn paused, then gave Fiora a big grin, “they’re just jealous cause they’re not me!”

Fiora rolled her eyes, “Whatever you say,” she said.

They sat in silence together for a little, Reyn pulling out chunks of the lawn around him while Fiora delicately weaved long pieces of grass together. Eventually the relative peace between them dissolved when Reyn accidentally tossed a handful of grass at Fiora, which caused her to retaliate by throwing her own handful at Reyn’s face.

Eventually it escalated into what was essentially an all-out war, with Fiora chasing Reyn, both of her hands overflowing with the green ammo while Reyn ran away, laughing cheerfully as he threw his own collection of grass and weeds back at her.

She caught up with him as Reyn reached the end of the lawn, bumping into the fence. He threw his arms over his face as she unleashed her barrage of grass onto him, and he laughed. He tackled her to the ground and she screamed, ripping out more pieces of grass and throwing them in his face.

He spat out the dirt and grass that got into his mouth and sat up, rubbing his face. Fiora giggled.

“That was fun,” she said between laughs.

Reyn grinned at her, but his smile was quickly wiped off his face as he spotted Devon marching their way, his hoard of friends following behind.

He groaned and stood up, crossing his arms. Fiora was quick to notice and she leapt up, a scowl on her own face.

Devon stepped up to Reyn, matching the frown on his own face.

“I can’t believe you got me in trouble,” Devon said.

“Me?! You were the one who started it!” Reyn shouted, his hands already clenched into fists.

“Yeah, well maybe if you weren’t such a scared little baby, we wouldn’t be in trouble right now,” one of Devon’s friends piped up from the back, followed by a chorus of ‘yeahs’ and ‘baby’s’

Reyn seethed, “you started it, and I’m not a baby!”

Fiora was suddenly in Devon’s face, pushing him back, “yeah! If anything, you’re the scaredy-cat cause you were crying in the office!”

Reyn blinked at Fiora in surprise, and Devon looked just as taken aback, “how did you know that?”

Fiora giggled innocently, “well I do now.”

Devon glowered at her and crossed his arms.

“Yeah? Well at least I’m not afraid of things that don’t exist, _Reyn_.”

Reyn stepped back, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Devon and his friends laughed, “Oh yeah? Is the little baby scared that he’s gonna see a monster under his bed tonight?”

Fiora was quick to jump to Reyn’s defence, “monsters exist. There are lots outside of Colony Nine,” she said, “my brother says so. He’s seen them.”

“Yeah? Then what about the one in the Military District?”

Fiora tilted her head, and Reyn couldn’t stop the shiver that went up his spine.

“The screaming boy?” Fiora scoffed, “heard that one. It sounds more like a ghost than a monster to me.”

Devon shrugged, “same thing,” he sneered at Reyn, “I bet the baby couldn’t even walk up the apartment without peeing himself.”

The group pointed at them and laughed, Reyn felt his face heat up.

“Oh yeah? I’ll go right now!”

Devon rolled his eyes, “at _night_ , stupid. How dumb are you?”

“Then I’ll go tonight! We’ll see who’s the real crybaby then!”

Fiora looked back at him, a small tilt to her head. She didn’t say anything, though.

“Fine,” Devon held out his hand, “I’ll see you there, scaredy-cat.”

Reyn shook it, making sure to squeeze his hand extra tight, “see you there, crybaby.”

Devon and his lackey’s left them then, just in time for the bell that signalled the end of recess. Fiora turned to Reyn.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked him.

He nodded, “Yeah, that crybaby wont even know what hit him.”

Fiora shrugged, “okay. I’ll meet you there after school then.”

Reyn stopped, “you’re coming with?”

“Yeah! Not like I’m going to miss an opportunity like this!” she laughed, “besides, Dunban is gonna be out late again with his friend. I can meet you outside the apartment tonight.”

Reyn shivered, “the creepy one?”

“Who else?”

They laughed and joked as they made their way back into the school, Fiora waved at Prinprin as she welcomed the students back into the building. Reyn was sure to avoid eye contact with her. They sat through the rest of the class, the anxious bubble only building in Reyn’s chest as the clock ticked on, and until the bell rang that signalled the end of the day.

* * *

The apartment building was even more intimidating at night, the large shadow it casted over the entire Military District was something Reyn hadn’t really noticed until now. He rubbed at his arms again, scanning the area for any sign of Devon or Fiora, as well as keeping an eye out for any guards that may catch them outside of curfew. They weren’t really allowed to be sneaking around this district, especially at night.

He caught sight of a torch in the corner of his eye and he ducked behind a crate just as the light from the patrolling guard washed over him. Reyn waited for a moment after the guard had passed before peeking out from his hiding place. When he spotted no one, he quickly ran over to the nearest pile of crates and barrels. This time it was much closer to the apartment. He could make out the staircase that would take them through the apartments and eventually up to the roof.

He gulped, trying to steady his shaking hands. It was just a ghost, after all. What was so scary about it? He’d never heard it scream before.

“Psst, Reyn!”

Reyn jumped, then squinted. He spotted Fiora, who was tucked away in a small alleyway close to where he was hiding. She waved to him, and after checking both ways for guards, Reyn sprinted over to her and crammed himself into the hiding place next to her.

“Is Devon here?” he asked.

Fiora huffed, “ _no_. And I checked the whole place three times while I was here.”

“How long were you here for?”

She shrugged, “like, two hours. It’s boring when Dunban isn’t home.”

Fiora looked up at him, despite being the same age, he already had a few inches on her, “I don’t think he’s gonna show up. I’m sorry Reyn.

Reyn shrugged, “like that’s gonna stop me. I’m gonna prove I’m not a baby.”

Fiora blinked, “Reyn you know you don’t have to-”

“-I do, Fiora. Please, I have to.”

Fiora watched him, then nodded, “okay, then I’m going with you,” she held out her fist, a large grin on her face, “for adventure.”

Reyn pounded it, grinning over the butterflies in his stomach, “for adventure.”

They scouted the area one more time for guards, then they booked it over to the staircase, letting the shadows cover them.

“Step one!” Fiora said cheerfully, “that was pretty easy.”

“Yeah,” Reyn said, “that even wasn’t so bad.”

A sudden bang startled the both of them, and Reyn screamed. Fiora covered his mouth with her hand, then pointed behind him.

He turned and saw a giant, grey cat standing on one of the garbage bins next to the stairwell. It blinked owlishly at them, like it hadn’t expected to see them either. Fiora waved to the cat.

“Aw, he’s so cute!” she giggled.

“Yeah, almost scared the ether out of me, too.” Reyn said sourly.

The cat blinked again at Fiora’s wave, then with a little tail wiggle it leapt off the garbage bin and sauntered off into the night.

“I hope nobody’s looking for him,” Fiora said as they began to ascend the staircase, this time on the extra lookout for any more falling cats.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Reyn grumbled, and lead the way up.

* * *

Reyn crept up the staircase, trying to soften his footfalls to the best of his ability. His steps still echoed through the open air, bouncing off the brick wall of the apartment building. It was difficult trying to keep his footsteps quiet on the metal steps, and when the next floor finally came into sight, he quickly scampered to the top, throwing himself against the wall and peering around the corner.

The hall was empty, same as all the other ones they had passed. Shadows were cast against the closed apartment doors from the soft glow of the ether lamps that were nailed to the walls. Reyn sighed. He just wanted to get this over with so he could go home and brag about it tomorrow. He’d just have to make up something about a ghost so the other boys would believe him.

He didn’t hear Fiora come up behind him until she ran into him and sent them both sprawling into the empty hall.

“Hey, watch it!” Reyn said quietly.

“You stopped walking! You can’t do that without warning me.” she said back.

“I was watching the hall! You’re the one who should’ve been looking were you were going.”

Fiora grabbed his ear and Reyn yelped, “well maybe this whole thing is stupid, and we should go home before we get in trouble.”

The sound of a creaking door interrupted Reyn before he could say anything, and he and Fiora shared a brief look, then shot up and back behind the corner.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence, broken by someone shuffling around the hall ahead of them.

Fiora tapped Reyn on the shoulder, and he met her gaze. She pointed at the hall deliberately, Reyn shook his head and mouthed ‘why’. She rolled her eyes and shoved him aside, causing him to nearly fall back down the stairs. He glared at her back as she took his old place and peered around the corner.

She let out a soft gasp and whipped back into the hiding place. She gestured wildly and Reyn stood on his toes to look over her and his body went cold.

There, at the edge of the balcony, stood a boy who looked about their age. He was wearing a thick coat and gloves that almost looked too big on him. He leaned against the railing and looked up at the stars, his expression was one Reyn couldn’t place, but he looked happy and calm.

Fiora pulled him back behind the wall before the boy could notice them and whispered fervently, “do you think it’s him?”

Reyn shrugged, he really hoped not.

“Maybe,” he said. “he looks like just another kid to me.”

“But we’ve never met him before. Maybe it’s true, he’s really a ghost!”

“Fiora maybe he’s-”

“The clothes too, they don’t make sense. It’s almost summer! He should be super hot in those.”

Reyn held himself closely, “maybe we should go back.”

“Let’s go say hi, maybe he’s friendly,” Fiora said, completely ignoring his advice.

“But the stories, Fiora! They say the ghost screams and growls all night.”

“Well, maybe that’s cause he’s lonely. C’mon.”

She pulled at his arm and Reyn resigned himself, trying to calm his frantically beating heart. Just as they were about to turn the corner, a deep growl stopped them in their tracks and they both froze. Fiora turned to look at him with wide eyes.

It went silent, and the air suddenly felt stifling. A soft breeze brushed through Reyn’s hair and he shivered violently.

A sudden and loud snarl made Reyn jump with a yelp, and Fiora screamed. He stumbled backwards and nearly fell down the staircase, but he caught himself on the rail, his whole body shaking from the freight.

Fiora’s scream suddenly turned into a squeal, and Reyn rushed up the couple of steps he stumbled down and skidded around the corner, prepared for whatever horror he may have to face.

He wasn’t, however, prepared to see Fiora crouching over a golden-furred dog that was almost half her height, playing with its face and scratching behind its ears. The dog was clearly displeased and was still growling at the girl.

“Reyn, it’s so cute! Look at him!” Fiora said, and the dog growled.

“Oh no!” an unfamiliar voice called, and Reyn looked up to see the boy at the railing was now hobbling towards them, coughing into his hand.

“Copper no, bad boy,” he reached for the dog’s leash, which lay abandoned on the floor; the dark blue colour nearly blending into the shadows of the night.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, trying to pull the monster dog away from Fiora, who actually cooed at it, “I didn’t mean for him to escape like that.”

The boy struggled with the dog for a moment, and Reyn was worried for a moment that he wouldn’t be able to get him under control. He stepped forward, hoping to help but before he could to anything, the boy sharply tugged at the leash and glared at the dog, and for a second Reyn could have sworn the dog glared back.

“It’s okay,” Fiora spoke as if the struggle hadn’t happened at all, “we’re kinda not supposed to be here anyways. Sorry for bothering you.”

Now that he was closer, Reyn could see the boy was shivering despite the heavy coat and the summer air. He held the leash tightly against his chest. Copper, as the boy had called him, now sat next to him with hackles raised and teeth bared. The sharp contrast between polite, shy boy and angry, loud dog nearly left Reyn reeling.

“Oh, n-no it’s okay. Um, we don’t usually get many visitors, so Copper isn’t really used to other people yet.”

Reyn tilted his head in confusion, “you don’t walk him in the colony?”

The boy jumped, as if he was just noticing Reyn’s presence. He fumbled with the leash.

“N-no? I’m um, I’m not allowed to leave yet,” the boy held an arm to his face and coughed suddenly and loudly. Reyn winced in sympathy.

“I-I’m not supposed to be outside, actually. But the sky is so pretty at nighttime. And Copper is pretty good at letting me know when other people are coming.”

“Is it because you’re sick?” Fiora asked.

“Um, I’m not sick,” the boy said, and Reyn blinked. He sounded pretty sick to him, “I’m just really weak, is what the doctors said. I have to build up my system before I can meet other people.”

“Um…” Reyn and Fiora exchanged glances, “oops?” they said simultaneously.

The boy laughed, “it’s okay. I like talking to you two. Just as long as we don’t touch.”

“How long will you have to stay like this?” Reyn asked.

The boy’s face lit up, “just until next year! Then Dickson said I get to tour his lab and everything.”

“Wait,” Fiora said in a rush, “you know Dickson? _You’re_ Shulk?”

Reyn looked at Fiora in surprise, “you know him?”

Fiora nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah! Dickson talks about you all the time when he’s visiting! Dunban is my big brother!”

The boy- Shulk‘s face split into a wide grin, “you guys are Reyn and Fiora?” he laughed, “Dickson talks about you guys too! He said I should meet you guys when I get better.”

“Yeah. Keywords being ‘when you get better.’”

The trio jumped, and they all spun to see Dickson casually leaning against the doorframe to their house with his arms crossed.

“Oh, come on, don’t act like the three of you weren’t talkin’ up a racket out here. Shulk, get back inside.”

Reyn was dumbfounded, “how did you…”

Dickson shrugged, “I have my ways. Sneaking around to eavesdrop on troublemakers is one of ‘em. I ain’t gonna ask you again, Shulk.”

Shulk slumped and shuffled over to Dickson with Copper leading the way. Dickson eyed him carefully as he made his way inside. He turned to Reyn and Fiora just before he disappeared through the doorway and gave them a shy smile, “it was nice meeting you.”

Fiora waved goodbye as Shulk entered the apartment, and suddenly Dickson’s scrutinizing gaze was on them. Reyn gulped.

“So…” Dickson looked the two of them up and down, “which one of us is gonna tell your parents?”

Fiora twisted her foot on the ground, looking innocent, “I’m sorry Dickson. It won’t happen again.”

When Dickson looked at Reyn with a raised brow, Reyn fumbled, “Oh uh, yeah. It won’t happen again. Sorry for sneaking around your home.”

“And yer both gonna go home and tell your parents,” Dickson nodded at Fiora, “and Dunban, where you’ve been?”

“Yes,” they both said.

“Good,” Dickson waved them off, “now scram. I’ve got a sick kid to see to.”

Reyn didn’t need to be told twice, and with Fiora he scrambled down the stairs, almost tripping over each other in their haste.

* * *

As they exited the Military District, Fiora nudged Reyn, “so… you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Reyn grinned at her, “first person to get caught owes the other five gold?”

Fiora cackled and held out a hand, which Reyn accepted readily, “deal. See you tomorrow night!”

“Or will you?”

“Hah! Yeah right, you’re like an Armu in a teashop. Good luck Reyn, you’ll need it.”

Reyn called after her as she made the turn that led into the Commercial District, “hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“See you tomorrow, Reyn!”

He shook his head, watching her run off. He took his time walking back home. Not only did he need to come up with a good ghost story to scare Devon, but now he needed to explain to his parents why he was out late as well.

He smiled, he supposed making a new friend was a good enough excuse.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new AU! I won’t go into the specifics just yet because I’m still trying to piece together the main story, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of how I want it to start and end, I just need to figure out how to bridge them together.  
> This can be read as part of the AU or by itself since there isn’t much context yet 😉 though maybe you guys are a lot smarter than I am and you’re already starting to piece some things together lol!  
> I don’t expect to be posting anything for the main story until I finish my other longfic Lost in Orbit, which has been taking up most of my time, but there may be some oneshots here or there if they decide to strike me 😊  
> Thanks for reading! <3
> 
> Reviews and criticisms are welcome and appreciated, as long as it’s constructive and respectful!


End file.
